If you’re a sports enthusiast and had wished to wager on sports within the past, but were weighed down by all the technical jargon such as point spreads, odds, and book making, relax. After you’ve got read this post, you will be ready to participate within a short time frame. Although sports betting may appear quite difficult in the early stages, it is not as complex as it may seem.

Gambling had deep roots in England and quite naturally, the colonists brought their love of gambling over to the united states and continued with the tradition. Early colonists have been known to bet on cock-fighting, boxing, and horse racing. In the early nineteenth century, almost all safe gambling (straight from the source) was centered on horse racing with boxing in second place. Conversely, with increasing popularity of baseball, the focus of sports gambling shifted to baseball betting towards the later a component of the century.

Through the start of the twentieth century, sports like the school basketball and football started getting the attention of open public and with the passage of time these sports were competing with baseball with regard to popularity. The earliest form of wagering on football and basketball involved the utilization of odds – a system still practiced today – also known as the money line.

The method of betting with money line posed big problems for the bookmakers and they were forced to put together a substitute. A majority of gambles were inclined to place bets on college teams that were quite superior to their opponents, making the outcome of the matches a foregone conclusion and resulting in losses for book makers. Just ahead of the Second World War broke out, the bookmakers introduce a new method of sports gambling that transformed this industry forever.

In simple terms, the point spread is a handicap which is placed on the likely winner of the basket ball or football game in points. For example, in the event the Lakers were expected to simply demolish the Clippers, the point spread for the game might be calculated at up to 20 points. Generally, 20 points could be either subtracted from the total score of Lakers score, or added to the total score of Clippers. In such a case, any sports enthusiast who placed a sports bet on the Lakers would only make money if the Lakers win by at least 21 points. Similarly, gamblers wagering on the Clippers stand to win their bets if the Clippers win the game as well as in the event the Clippers lose the game, gamblers can still win provided Clippers lose by 19 points or less.

The point spread helped the bookmakers to balance their books as bets on sporting events were more evenly placed compared to the previous system where virtually all gamblers placed bets on the same teams.

The huge success of the point spread helped the bookmakers realize that the greater betting options the public had, the more bets they can be prone to place. This realization resulted within the creation of another system, the totals. Often known as “overs / unders,”, this betting proposition provides the gamblers to bet on the total score of both the teams, irrespective of the outcome of the game.

Sports betting has gone through many stages of evolution with the passage of time. Bookmakers have continued to come up with betting methods and opportunities, latest of them being teasers and parlays. Conversely, placing a sports bet with the traditional money line, against the point spread, or through totals, continue to be the three most popular forms of sports gambling. No matter what sports you follow, there is definitely an equal opportunity now to make money through your favorite sports.